New South Wales Consolidated Acts

STATE RECORDS ACT 1998 - SECT 57

57 Public office may authorise earlier public access

(1) The public office responsible for a State record that is not in the open access period can permit public access to the record under this Act by authorising early public access to the record under this Act and notifying Museums of History NSW that it has authorised that access. The record is then open to public access under this Act while the authorisation remains in force and accordingly any person is entitled to be given access to the record as provided by this Part.

(2) Such an authorisation may be revoked at any time by the public office for the time being responsible for the record. The authorisation is revoked by giving notice of revocation in writing to Museums of History NSW.

(2A) In assessing whether to authorise early public access to State records under this Act, a public office is to apply the principles established by section 52 for an assessment under that section. The power conferred by subsection (1) is exercisable at the absolute discretion of the public office concerned and this subsection does not limit the exercise of that discretion.

(3) This section applies to part of a record in the same way as it applies to the whole record, so that authorisation can be given for part of a record and that part of the record is then open to public access while the authorisation is in force (without conferring any entitlement to public access to the rest of the record).

(4) This section does not authorise a public office to permit public access to a State record in breach of any duty or obligation (such as a duty of confidentiality) that the public office may have with respect to the record.

(5) Once a record is in the open access period, an authorisation under this section in respect of it is taken to be an OPA direction in respect of the record (and can be revoked accordingly).

(6) This section does not limit the power of a public office to permit access to a State record independently of this Act.